Disaster Response and Recovery in the U.S.

Helping Kids Be Prepared, Stay Safe and Build Resilience

Save the Children is committed to reducing the impact of disaster, whether natural or manmade, on children through effective preparedness, response and recovery. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Save the Children led the presidentially appointed National Commission on Children in Disasters and has since emerged as a national leader in emergency disaster relief and recovery.

Explore our Disaster Response & Recovery Programs

Evacuation shelters can be scary places for kids, which is why we offer our disaster-tested child-friendly spaces, which provide safe and protective play areas for children, and respite for parents so they can start their own recovery process.

Children can begin to cope when they’re able to interact with their peers and resume a normal routine. That’s why Save the Children prioritizes child care and education program recovery in the wake of disaster.

Our team helps communities prepare and protect the most vulnerable among us during disaster – children. We help generate child-focused emergency plans and provide emergency training and resources in advance, helping keep kids safe.

2017 U.S. Emergency Responses & Ongoing Recovery Work

Hurricane Maria

Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane, pummeling the U.S. territory with catastrophic levels of rain and winds up to 155 miles per hour. Months later, many on the island still do not have power, and children haven’t returned to school full-time.

Save the Children has been on the ground, based in San Juan, since the earliest days of the disaster to support the children and families most affected by this catastrophic storm. We’re working with partners to make sure children’s needs are being met and are supporting children’s physical and emotional wellbeing through Community-Based Children’s Activities. In addition, we’re training teachers and caregivers to help kids move beyond the trauma they’ve faced and continue to distribute essential supplies in some of the hardest-hit areas.

Save the Children is committed to supporting the children and families most affected across Puerto Rico through 2020. LEARN MORE

Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey was the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in over 50 years. More than 3 million children were affected by the catastrophic storm, which displaced more than 1 million people and damaged over 200,000 homes in a path of destruction that stretched more than 300 miles.

Save the Children’s Emergency Response Team deployed in advance of the storm and has been on the ground, based in Houston, since the earliest days of the disaster.

Save the Children continues to work to ensure Hurricane Harvey’s most vulnerable victims – children – are supported in their recovery, have access to early childhood education programs where they can safely play and learn, and become more resilient and ready for the next disaster.

Our team is committed to supporting the children and families most affected in Texas through August 2019. LEARN MORE

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma was the second of three major hurricanes to impact the United States in 2017 and the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic. After tearing its way across the Caribbean, the storm had a direct and powerful impact on Florida, putting more than 4 million children at risk.

Save the Children’s Emergency Response Team deployed as the storm made landfall and has been on the ground, based in Miami, since the earliest days of the disaster. Now, we’re leading recovery work focused on early childhood program restoration and well as implementing our Journey of Hope program to help children and caregivers cope and recover from the storm. LEARN MORE

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